DIY Sunday Service Kit 24/12/23 - Christmas Special: God deals decisively with religious cynicism (Malachi 3:13-4:6)

 

So, it's Christmas!

Of course, our individual experiences of Christmas are as individual as our experiences of human life.

For many of us the season brings memories ... some of them bring pleasure and some of them bring pain.

It can also bring reminders either of good times or of aspirations and experiences that for one reason or another we won't find fulfilling this year.

Let's be sure to:

• give thanks for what we can

• pray for those we may and

• remember the preciousness of the coming of the Saviour of the world 

... Who laid aside the pleasure and the fulfilment of His experience in Glory for all the humbling experiences of His incarnation and all the sacrificial pain of His death and resurrection ... giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Let's begin to do that now as we sing

Let's pray

Today of all days, Lord and Father, 

as we celebrate the coming of the Lord of Glory to take us ultimately into His Kingdom and 

into your presence in Glory, 

we pray that the benefit of the life He lived,

 

the death He died and

 

the resurrection through which He triumphed over our sin, our death and the hell that will now never be the lot of His people,

 

may warm our hearts to a more intense love for our God.

We ask you to draw us particularly close to you by the Holy Spirit Who has brought all of your people new birth.

May the faith you have given bring us closer to the precious, vibrant reality of the fellowship the Incarnate Christ has brought us with the One true Living God, and may our union with Him be greatly increased as we celebrate the feast of His birth.

We ask for Jesus' sake.

AMEN.

Here's the seven-day prayer calendar for this week:

1. On this Christmas Eve, we praise God for the Incarnation of Jesus in fulfillment of the ancient promise that “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). We pray that the Light of the One who is the Way, Truth and Life will continue to spread into every corner of the world, until “the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14). Over a quarter of the world has yet to have access to the Good News.

2. On Christmas Day, let us be reminded of the Shepherds and Wise Men who responded to the drawing of the Holy Spirit and came near to worship. Let us, too, draw near in worship and—like the Shepherds—share with others the great story of the God who put on flesh and moved into the neighborhood. And let us pray for peace on Earth.

3. We pray for the believers who recently endured arrest in Mauritania (link). While I have seen some conflicting reports, it appears at this point correct that the eighteen were released last Sunday. The arrests occurred after a baptism ceremony video was circulated. There is some indication of continued pressure on the believers. We pray for the families to be reunited, for more family members to come to faith, and for those who have found it necessary to leave the area.

4. We pray for peace and the justice of God’s Kingdom in Sudan, where the RSF is making significant gains and seems likely to conquer much of the country. With their reign comes allegations of murder, oppression, systematic abuse of women, genocide, and massacres. We pray for the church that is enduring a significant trial, and for the people who are falling under this tide of apparent evil. We pray for the many who have been displaced form their homes, and the hundreds of thousands who have fled the country and are now refugees abroad. We pray for those trying to provide humanitarian aid, whose operations have been significantly disrupted by recent RSF gains.

5. We pray for peace and the justice of God’s kingdom in Israel and Gaza. We pray for the many Gazans who are caught up in the midst of the conflict, and whose families have suffered harm and death. We pray for those who are still held hostage by Hamas. We pray for those who are desperate, hungry, and sick. We pray for the believers attempting to bring aid in the midst of the fighting.

6. We pray for the hundreds affected by the earthquake in Gansu province, on the Tibetan plateau. This is one of the less reached areas in the world. At least 140 are known dead at this point, and with many more under the rubble that number is likely to rise. We pray for the survivors who are “enduring freezing temperatures and mourning their dead.” We pray that believers will be able to be a blessing in the midst of this disaster.

7. We pray for the spiritual transformation of Bihar, in India. This province is #3 on the least-reached provinces list. At 130 million, it is roughly equivalent to Japan, Mexico, Russia or Bangladesh in total population. It is one of the most densely populated, rural, poorest, challenging regions of the world. It is less than 2% Christian now. There has been significant focus on the area by many churches and agencies, and some significant fruit has been had, but much remains to be done, and persecution has been marked. We pray for kingdom workers who are even now continuing to spread the Gospel and make disciples here.

Let's read the Bible

The week's 'Deep-Dive' into the Bible is available in audio (.mp3), studiocam video (.mp4) and transcript
over the next three buttons

Audio 

Video

Transcript

Let's pray

Lord we give you thanks today that you have revealed to us decisively the depth of your love towards us in the coming of the Lord Jesus.

We acknowledge the we are not worthy of such love.

We acknowledge that we have all to readily hung around in the foothills of religious cynicism and  we ask you to teach us a heathy fear and revulsion of the prospects of being in such a place.

And at this Christmas we ask again for your forgiveness for those times when we have not been as faithful to you and your covenant as we should have been.

Create again in us we pray a heart for our God as we rejoice in the first coming of the Lord Jesus into our world on His mission to redeem and to save, and prepare us more each day to prepare for the great and glorious day when He returns.

We ask for His sake and glory, in Jesus' name.

AMEN.